'Guantanamo' Oldest Inmate Released After 19 Years... 35 Still Remain

Pakistan Secures Release of 75-Year-Old Prisoner Through Talks with US
Product of 'War on Terror'... Biden Administration Pledges Closure Within Term

Prisoners standing by the fence holding Islamic prayer beads inside Camp Delta at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Photo by AP Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Sung-wook] The oldest detainee at the U.S. military base prison in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, operated by the U.S. government, has been released after 19 years and returned to his hometown in Pakistan.

According to the New York Times and others on the 29th (local time), U.S. authorities released Saipulla Paracha (75), a Pakistani who had been detained at Guantanamo Bay prison, after 19 years. A Pakistani businessman, he was captured during a trip to Thailand in July 2003, transferred through Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan, and detained at Guantanamo from 2004. He was accused of being an accomplice to the terrorist organization Al-Qaeda but denied the charges.

Paracha is reported to have been released following negotiations between the U.S. and Pakistan at the request of the Pakistani government. The Pakistani Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a statement regarding Paracha's release, saying, "We are pleased that a Pakistani who was detained abroad has finally been reunited with his family." The U.S. State Department also confirmed his release, stating that his detention was no longer necessary.

The Guantanamo Bay detention camp was established in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, by the George W. Bush administration, which declared a "War on Terror" after the September 11, 2001 attacks. It primarily detained individuals suspected of terrorist activities in the Middle East without consent for arrest, indictment, or trial, holding them for extended periods. It was also notorious as a site of various human rights abuses, including torture.

At the time, the Bush administration classified suspects as "enemy combatants," excluding them from prisoner treatment under international agreements. So-called "enhanced interrogation techniques" involved various brutal acts such as beatings, waterboarding, and sleep deprivation. Nearly 800 people have been detained at Guantanamo Bay, with numbers gradually decreasing during the Obama administration. According to the U.S. Department of Defense, 35 detainees remain currently.

U.S. President Joe Biden previously pledged to close the Guantanamo Bay detention camp during his term. Marking the 20th anniversary of the September 11 attacks last year, President Biden declared the end of the war by completing the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan. Consequently, the international community continues to call for the abolition of Guantanamo Bay, a product of the "War on Terror."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.